2026
WISE Score
Ellie finally gets her wings in this 'What If' that trades the floating house for a high-stakes 1930s adventure.
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If your kid is aging out of Disney+ but still has a soft spot for the classics, this is a great bridge. It’s not 'brain rot'—it’s a legitimate novel that asks hard questions about what we’re willing to sacrifice for our dreams.
It avoids the 'boring' trap by keeping the pacing tight and the stakes high. It’s a solid pick for a middle schooler’s backpack, especially if they’re into adventure stories with a female lead who isn't afraid to make a mess of things.
Best for ages 11 and up. While the movie 'Up' is for everyone, this book is written for the YA crowd with a 16-year-old protagonist and more sophisticated themes about ambition and identity.
It maintains the core heart of the original 'Up' relationship while letting Ellie be a messy, ambitious teenager rather than just a montage memory. It models a deep friendship that evolves into something more, though Ellie's frustration and impulsiveness drive much of the conflict.
The 'Twisted Tale' series thrives on high-concept 'What Ifs.' Flipping the script to put Ellie in the pilot's seat instead of Carl is a clever way to expand the lore of Paradise Falls and Muntz's world beyond what we saw on screen.
It's a Disney-licensed YA novel. You'll find some teen angst, light romantic tension, and 'perilous' adventure sequences, but nothing that would shock a middle schooler or require a content warning.
It tackles the 'stay in your lane' vs. 'follow your gut' dilemma really well. It gives girls a protagonist who is allowed to be loud and impulsive, while exploring the real-world consequences of those choices.
We all know the first ten minutes of Up are a masterclass in emotional devastation, but they also left Ellie as a bit of a ghost—a catalyst for Carl’s growth rather than a protagonist in her own right. Liz Braswell fixes that by grounding this story in a 1930s setting that feels lived-in and gritty. This isn't a whimsical flight in a balloon house; it’s a period-accurate adventure involving USO dances, small-town expectations, and a very real internship at a zoo.
By aging Ellie and Carl up to sixteen, the book manages to capture that specific friction of being a teenager with a world-sized ambition stuck in a town that wants you to just stay put. If your kid is currently vibrating with the need to "get out of this town," Ellie’s internal monologue will hit home.
The Twisted Tale series has a reputation for taking the "Disney" out of Disney, and this entry is no different. Braswell leans into the "twisted" prompt by making the stakes physical. When Ellie decides to go on a rescue mission for a rare bird, she isn't just defying her parents—she’s risking her life in a way that feels more like Indiana Jones than a Sunday morning cartoon.
The relationship with Carl is the anchor here. Watching their dynamic shift from childhood best friends to something more "bubbling" (as the book puts it) provides the emotional weight. It’s a slow-burn romance that feels earned because we already know where they could end up. However, the tone is significantly heavier than the source material. If you’re wondering exactly how much "grit" to expect, check out our parent’s guide to Adventure Is Out There!: A Twisted Tale for the breakdown on the peril levels.
If your reader has moved on from middle-grade fiction but isn't quite ready for the nihilism of some modern YA, this is the sweet spot. It’s for the kid who:
You can find the book at major retailers like Vroman's Bookstore or Parnassus Books. It’s a fast read, but it lingers longer than the average tie-in novel because it actually respects Ellie enough to let her be a complicated, sometimes frustrating person. It’s less about the destination (Paradise Falls) and more about the cost of being the person who actually tries to get there.
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